Photo Button Diary: One Fan's AC/DC Devotion Will Rock You...Like a Hurricane

During a recent vacation, the Grand Poobah of American Button Machines had the opportunity to stop by the Experience Music Project (EMP) museum in Seattle. You may be wondering what a music museum has to do with buttons, but it won't take you very long to find out. For nearly as long as there have been bands, pinback buttons have been used as a promotional tool. They are stylish, easy to wear on almost kind of clothing, easy and inexpensive to make, and easy to grab on the go and hand out at shows. Bands and buttons were a match made in promotional heaven from the very beginning. And this is certainly evident at the EMP museum. One of the current exhibits at the EMP museum is that AC/DC: Australia's Family Jewels. A part of that exhibit is a collection fan memorabilia and merchandise. You will not be surprised to learn that buttons feature prominently in the exhibit (and that the aforementioned ABM Grand Poobah was quite excited about it). What follows is a series of photos taken from the exhibit that show the immense use some AC/DC fans got from making and collecting buttons featuring their favorite band.

We begin our tour with the incredible guitar display in the lobby.

---

Next, we head to check out some neat AC/DC fan memorabilia.

---

And we quickly find out that AC/DC has some pretty intense fans.

---

See what I mean? Really intense. (That coat weighs 23 pounds!)

---

You make a 23-pound trench coat covered in buttons? You get to be called AC/DC's #1 fan.

---

This a lot of buttons on a jacket...but it pales in comparison to the one above.

*****

If you're ever up in Seattle, go check out the EMP Museum. And see for yourself just how intertwined buttons are with being a fan of music!

Brighid Brown - Director of Blogging and All Things Cool at ABM